Entrepreneur -- Time was when getting feedback from a customer was a process so complex, it was akin to getting blood out of a stone. Thankfully, we don’t live in those times.

Today, not only is feedback nothing more than an email away, but customers actively come to you with suggestions and ideas. In fact, theylove sharing their insights with you because they understand that the more feedback they give, the better your product becomes.

However, most of this feedback just ends up cooling its heels in hard drives, which is, well, tragic, considering all the good it can do. A motivational tool, a wall of love. . . the ideas are limited only by your imagination. Here are our top five cool things that you can spin off with customer feedback, to wow your customers and your own employees.

1. Drive product roadmap with feedback.

Take it from the experts: Your customers are the stars simply because they use your product day in and day out. No matter how hard you try to empathize and put yourself in their shoes, you'll never come up with some of the exciting ideas that occur to your "power users."

So, stop brainstorming and start following customer discussions on forums. Read support tickets, listen to feedback and, most important of all, record all the ideas you hear. Not only will your customers appreciate your willingness to listen and implement their ideas, but you will set yourself apart from your competitors, as a business that genuinely cares.

2. Create a 'wall of love.'

There's a world of difference between knowing that your customers love you and actually seeing proof of it. Create a wall of love containing all the amazing things your customers have said about you, your product and your service. Put it online to show your employees that what they do actually matters; it changes people’s lives for the better. You can even create a document with these testimonials and publish it online for potential customers to see just how trustworthy you are, how much you really care about them and their feedback. It also makes for excellent sales collateral.

A physical wall of love at your workplace won’t hurt either. In fact, we can’t think of a better motivation tool. Being able to walk by a wall and see how what you do matters: There can’t be a better motivation tool in existence.

Read the rest of the story here: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/251743

So, I happened to be speaking with a person the other day who indicated a desire to be able to sell the experience, sell the store, sell her knowledge and skills and only after that, sell products to the consumer. BUT (paraphrasing her), “What if the consumer says NO? I don't want to be a pushy sales person, I hate those kinda sales people”. Everyone hates ‘em. Because they are bad at their job. Two things occurred to me which I think are VERY IMPORTANT...

ONE: A sales person is perceived as pushy when he keeps trying to close a sale WITHOUT PROPERLY OVERCOMING OBJECTIONS. Trying to push something the consumer does not want.

TWO: QUALIFYING the consumer properly, prior to presentation and then trying to close the sale dramatically reduces objections.

Corollary... Sales people who are good at QUALIFYING consumers are not so often perceived as pushy. Rather, the consumers see them as an EXPERT on the subject matter.

This is why understanding how a sales transaction is constructed and then understanding how to MANAGE THE SELLING TRANSACTION is so IMPORTANT.

Dig this... The reasons to QUALIFY a consumer (second of six specific steps in a selling transaction: Greet, QUALIFY, Present, Trial Close, Overcome Objections, Close), are many:

1      What does the consumer want?

2      What does the consumer need in order to satisfy wants?

3      What does the consumer THINK he needs to satisfy his wants?

4      Where did the consumer learn what he thinks he needs?

5      Do the consumer needs and consumer budget (willingness to spend) match up?

6      When is the consumer contemplating making the purchase?

7      Does the consumer have the authority to make and execute a purchase decision?

8      Method of payment?

For sure, each of the points above deserve several hours of discussion between the person teaching a sales training class and the attendees. I assure you, the more often the sales person knows the answer to ALL of these QUALIFICATION POINTS prior to making a presentation the more often consumers will perceive him or her as a knowledgeable expert and not so much a pushy sales person when trying to close the sale.

If you are responsible for selling products and services to your consumers, AND this concept of QUALIFYING a consumer and MANAGING the SELLING TRANSACTION seems foreign or uncomfortable to you, THAT IS A PROBLEM. It needs fixing. Call me, Eddy Kay, Dell Ellis, or somebody to get straight. Don’t wait. Do it now.

It is really important to be in charge of the selling transaction.  This “Pushy Sales People” issue is a glaring demonstration of same.

Don’t forget to look at, and tell all of your consumers about, the Ray Windsor You Tube Channel and the “Selecting A Retailer” series.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ray+windsor+select+a+retailer     

Easy and worthwhile 3-6 minutes with a new segment every Tuesday.